The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) office is up and running on NAS Whidbey Island and as many as 11 volunteers are ready to help active duty Sailors, dependents, family members and retirees with their taxes until April 18.
Tax preparation is completely free and filed online so that Sailors can get their returns within two weeks.
Since it has opened its office on Jan. 18, the volunteers staffing VITA have helped about 1,200 people said Senior Chief Air Traffic Controller Chris Williams, Navy site coordinator of the VITA office. He anticipates VITA will help well over 2,000 people by April 18.
Williams, who has helped young Sailors of 18 years old along with a retired chief’s widow of 82, said it feels good to help out people as well as to save them some money. On average, he said people paid income tax preparers $130.
March 17, 2011
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There are many paths to becoming an officer in the U.S. Navy, but the journey that leads to acceptance in such a program is not to be taken lightly. For Naval Aircrewman Avionics 1st Class Dominic Ganze, it was a process that spanned three tours and nine years.
For many young Sailors, life at an aviation squadron just out of “A” school is not easy. Moving to a new area, devoid of family and friends, they are faced with the overwhelming task of learning their job and position in a large, complex and operational squadron.
Additionally, these Sailors will be faced with hectic workups and eventual deployment. In a Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron (VQ), these issues are multiplied due to forward deployment year-round to multiple detachment sites.
March 17, 2011
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No one can explain in words the catastrophe that devastated the Pacific Ocean on March 11, 2011. The fifth largest earthquake in recorded history was quickly followed by a horrific tsunami, which surged from Japan to our coastal shore.
Questions run through every person’s mind but more-so through the minds of seasoned Sailors. They know their shipmates stand on each shoreline and pier along the way. Thanks to the traveling nature of the Navy men and women to move from one duty station to the next, many comrades do their best to keep in touch over the distances.
Worries and concerns are not only felt by those in uniform but also the families. Friendships that budded at previous duty stations now continue oceans away. For one NAS Whidbey Island family, the Pacific Ocean is most on their mind.
March 17, 2011
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Expansive views of the base and surrounding mountains; delicious, hand-prepared dishes; reasonable prices and sit-down dining with fast service - this is the Bakerview Restaurant dining experience.
Bakerview is perched atop a bluff that overlooks Clover Valley and Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. It is the only locale from which someone can clearly view the takeoff and landing of Navy aircraft that range from the Navy Flying Club’s T-34B to sleek EA18-G Growlers to workhorse EA6-B Prowlers to low-humming P-3 Orions to commuting C-130s, choreographed with military precision.
Morning fog dissipates as the day progresses and the thick robe of white lifts to reveal the shoreline along Hammer Road, the granite-peaked dome of Mt. Erie, Anacortes’ seaside cottages, the San Juan Islands, Vancouver Island, and finally, the North Cascade Range’s crowning jewel, Mt. Baker. This is the visual glory the restaurant was named for: the view of Baker, as it is affectionately called.
March 17, 2011
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NAS Whidbey Island Sailors teamed up to make improvements to the Oak Harbor Elementary School March 5, 2011. Although VP-46 is the school’s Navy Partner in Education (PIE), volunteers came from throughout nine different commands to pitch in.
Thirty-six members from VP-46, Naval Hospital Oak Harbor (NHOH), the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit (CNATTU) Whidbey, Security, VQ-2, NAS Operations, Center for Personal & Professional Development detachment, VP-1 and the Navy Operational Support Center Whidbey partnered to repair the track and make improvements to the garden area of the school.
“I seek out ways to give back to the community and when I heard about this project, I felt it was important to support,” said Air Traffic Controller First Class Kevin Mullins of CNATTU.
March 17, 2011
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Gary Jandzinski is the new Emergency Operations Center manager for NAS Whidbey Island.
He reported to work in late January and hit the ground running, attending an EOC training course in February with students from Naval Station Everett and NAS, and learning how to operate the equipment and programs in the EOC located on the first floor of building 385 — just in time to participate in the recent Solid Curtain/Citadel Shield anti-terrorism force protection exercise.
As the EOC Manager, he considers himself a facilitator. His job is to provide EOC members with the tools and training they need to manage an “event” — planned or unplanned — and ensure those tools are up and running so they’re available when the base commander determines the EOC team needs to assemble to respond.
March 17, 2011
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The Lancers of VAQ-131 are homeward bound having recently completed their support of Operations Enduring Freedom (OEF) and New Dawn (OND).
The 160 Lancers successfully supported every tasked mission over the four months they spent on station in the North Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf.
“I’m extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished as a squadron,” said Cmdr. Tom Huerter, VAQ-131 Commanding Officer, praising his team. “Every member of this Command directly contributed to the successful completion of our mission. We were able to achieve a 100 percent combat sortie completion rate due to the hard work and perseverance of our Sailors.”
VAQ-131 provided vital Electronic Attack support to U.S. and Coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. These missions often involved complex coordination with troops on the ground who consistently relied on the capabilities of the Prowler to accomplish their mission.
March 10, 2011
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All 20 of the 20 squadrons, active duty and Reserve, that operate from NAS Whidbey Island were recently awarded the Squadron Blue “M” award for 2010 for sustained medical readiness, according to a Commander, Naval Air Forces message received Feb. 11.
“This is the first time in the history of this base that we had a clean sweep with all squadrons receiving the Blue ‘M’ award,” said Capt. Steve Mattson, Senior Regional Flight Surgeon.
The awards are based on a sustained high level of medical readiness, a viable health promotion program and stringent medical record audit.
“This is not an easy task and says a lot for the hard work, long hours and dedication to duty it takes to achieve this goal,” said Mattson.
March 10, 2011
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Rear Adm. Tim Mat-thews, commander, Fleet Readiness Center, visited Fleet Readiness Center Northwest (FRCNW) Sailors, Marines and civilians and observed day-to-day operations, Feb. 17.
The admiral began the morning observing Colors as the Ensign was raised on FRCNW’s newly-installed flagpole. From there he proceeded to the conference room where he congratulated the AIRSpeed Core team led by Chief Aviation Electronics Technician Joel Green and George Wolcott on the command’s selection as the recipient of the 2010 Enterprise AIRSpeed Award.
The annual award is administered by Naval Air Systems Command (AIR 6.7) and presented to the unit that stimulates a culture of continuous process improvement (CPI) through recognition of improved customer satisfaction, further integration between maintenance and supply, application of the AIRSpeed concepts, execution of the AIRSpeed enablers and deployment of CPI sustainment initiatives.
March 10, 2011
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Fitness employee Bill Reynolds, who passed away Oct. 26, 2010, was honored in memorial service at the NAS Whidbey Island Gym March 4. Reynolds, who had worked at the gym for over 10 years after retiring from the Navy as an Chief Aviation Electrician, passed away just one month after he was diagnosed with stage four cancer.
Current and former co-workers, as well as old friends, gathered in the gym’s lobby to share memories of Reynolds and pay their respects. He was remembered as a sometimes grumpy man who, below that sometimes gruff surface, deeply cared about the job he performed and the individuals he worked with.
“When he started working for me in ball field maintenance, I couldn’t have had a better employee,” recalled Ron McEntee, the gym’s intramural sports coordinator. “He read my mind: anything I needed was done without me ever having to ask.”
March 10, 2011
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